Troubleshooting software conflicts in Windows and Mac

[Heath M Rezabek]

Hello; I am beginning a consultancy towards designing a web 
development lab to support the public stations in libraries through 
Austin Free-Net.  All public stations are running as kiosks very very 
effectively and safely on Windows machines.

The Web Dev Lab, however, will have different needs: because it will 
be full of developers who will need access to software, saving and 
filing, and all other similar things, I am also looking into ease or 
procedure of troubleshooting.  [Among other factors].  The team needs 
to be able to troubleshoot problems and fix them quickly themselves, 
whenever possible, without calling for outside help.

I know that with Macs, when there is a software conflict or crash, 9 
times out of 10 the problem is loaclized to the Extensions folder or 
the Control Panels folder, and a conflict between 2 or more 
extensions.  I am not so familiar with how Windows troubleshooting 
occurs, so am turning to expertise.

1: Where is the first place one checks when there is a software 
conflict or crash on a Windows machine, and what is the procedure for 
an individual to troubleshoot and isolate the problem?

2: What percentage of software conflicts would you say your system 
*user* can locate and troubleshoot out, versus what percentage your 
staff either has to call for a technical staff assistant, or outside 
specialist?

Thanks for any feedback [feel free to correspond privately]


-- 
       Heath M Rezabek  hrezabek at gslis.utexas.edu
              interOps  http://ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/~rez/iO/

"Diversity gives birth to innovation and imagination.
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